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Since our thoughts create our reality, and we can literally visualize the future into existence, I thought of how powerful daydreaming must be then.

Daydreaming and Worrying are of the same cloth. They are both expressions of creative imagination.

By worrying, your mind is making blueprints of something you do not want. By daydreaming, your mind is creating a blueprint of what you do want. Worrying drains you and makes you feel powerless. You see outside sources as barriers and obstacles that you have no control over. It blocks your ability to create something positive. Daydreaming, on the other hand empowers you as you are the one creating the vision, feeding your mind with positive images. You are much more in control.

Your imagination is being used in both these states, but producing completely different outcomes. The energy field around you – which is your reality- reflects back to you your own beliefs and thoughts about yourself. This field is like a mirror. It does whatever you tell it. So when you are focusing your awareness on worry, it will give you back more images and results of worry in the physical.

Everything reflects back!

You are the sender and the receiver. When you smile in the mirror, it smiles back. Whatever you tell it to do, it does. It does not argue, or question, it just receives the message and sends it back (to you).

Thus, daydreaming is a great way to visualize the future you want. You are creating positive images attached to an emotion that will have no choice but to reflect back to you in some form.

So remember, Worrying is the unintentional creation of your future, and daydreaming is the intentional creation of your future.

Your imagination creates your reality and the field around us responds to all our thoughts, feelings and desires. You must imagine your dreams and not your fears. Worry is like a constant negative prayer, declaring fear over your life thus creating more of it in your reality. Your reality is created by what you imagine and believe to be true about yourself.

Daydreaming is like creating memories of something in the future. This, you have control over, that which you are currently daydreaming about, thus creating in the physical. Create positive pictures and feelings about your future self.

Daydreaming and enjoying the daydream is like immediately switching your frequency to one of joy, anticipation and hope. You are daydreaming about a perfect “movie” and enjoying the feelings of having those desires and wishes.

And since we all have free will, we can literally choose what we decide to daydream into our reality, which is pretty friggen amazing if you ask me.

What a true statement that is. To live a fulfilling life of high achievement, you must have the belief in yourself and your ability to perform. The most successful people on the planet have that one thing is common, they all believe they can do what they set out to do!

This also means perservering in spite of failure. Believing something good will come even from the failures, setbacks and disappointments. Being able to get up again and again. Keeping that strong belief in yourself, confidence to know your goals will be met and you will have the life you dream of. The road will never be completely smooth, not at all. There will be many bumps, challenges, obstacles. Belief is your super weapon here. It will keep you moving forward and will not let you be defeated. You may not have the things you want now, but you know you will have them,

So how do we get better at believing in ourselves? Well, here are some things you can do to cultivate that belief.

Gratitude Journal. I have an article on gratitude and I can not stress the absolute benefits of being thankful and gracious. Write down the things you are thankful for. Write down the qualities about yourself you are thankful for. Count your wins. Write down all the great things you have done and be absolutely grateful to have done and accomplished those things. Big or small, these victories should be celebrated, it means more are on the way!

Motivate yourself! Give yourself pep talks and be your own biggest fan. Your thoughts are so so powerful and not only are thoughts powerful, words even more so. Tell yourself out loud that you are a champion, you are destined for greatness, and no one is like you! The truth is, that no one is like you, and that right there is the gamechanger. You are you and you can do everything you are capable of, if you just believe in yourself. I like to listen to music that pumps me up and gets me motivated and goal driven. Singing and dancing really get me into a good energy space where I can cultivate my own belief and joy even more.

You can also listen to inspirational videos and motivational speeches. Now I am myself a speaker, and I love to inspire people through my own words and experiences. I have found much joy and inspiration in finding positive influences to look up to and learn from. Their powerful beliefs in themselves and in others was what first sparked a true desire in me for more.

Remember, those who change the world, understand the power of belief. So never give up and don’t stop believing!

Hey Everyone! So I am just so excited to share this with you all. I have accomplished one of my dreams, and that is – SKYDIVING!

Now I am from Brampton, Canada(just outside Toronto)..but I decided California was the perfect place to skydive..and oh, it was, it really was.

I decided to take a trip to Los Angeles with my friend Tia from work and my friend Michelle. After all the crap that has gone on in my life the last few years, this was something I needed!

I am the type of person who likes to challenge and push myself. I enjoy seeing what I am capable of, and then making myself even more capable to do other things. I figured hey – I got public speaking down, skydiving has to be next. Conquer your fears was my mantra and hey all the greatest and most rewarding things lie on the other side of fear.

So I mustered up the courage, and to be honest I didn’t even really need to. People kept going on about how crazy that is and scary and stuff. The whole thought excited me much more than it scared me, although of course signing my life away made me a little nervous. But even then, not really!

So we get to Skydive Santa Barbara, we watch the video, sign the papers, and put on our gear. They put a harness on you and strap you all up. You have to go with an instructor of course, and after 25 jumps you could eventually get certified to jump on your own. That seems pretty cool to me, maybe I will do it one day.

So me and Tia wait for the plane, which arrives to pick us up along with about 5 other skydivers. As we go up, the intensity builds. I am getting more excited by the second. We reach 1000 ft, and he tells us we have 12 more to go. We were really high. Apparently there is an 18,000 ft jump as well that I will do the next time I decide I need to jump out of a plane. So once we reach the desired altitude, the door opens. Now its real. Now its soooo real. The first jumper gets ready to go and he literally does 5 flips out of the plane! It looked super cool but this is when I started feeling a little bit of fear. They just rolled out of the plane and dropped. Then it was me! AHH I was next but the adrenaline was pumping through my veins and I was ready!

All of a sudden it just kind of happened, I sat close to the edge and I guess the instructor launched us because we rolled right out of that plane so quick.

And then, you are freefalling. No parachute yet, just your body dropping through the atmosphere with nothing but ground underneath you. After about a minute of this freefall, the instructor pulls the shoot. Then you are just soaring. He let me steer the parachute, and he took pictures and video the whole time.

We came into land and it was much less scary than I thought. I had been nervous about the landing because someone told me they knew someone who broke both their legs. But it was so slow and smooth that I’m not quite sure how that happened unless you free fell the whole way down lol. I touched ground, was grateful to be alive(haha) and to be honest quite dizzy. My ears popped like crazy and I felt a but disoriented when we landed. Then I tried to process what I just did. It all happened so quickly. Oh my, I can do anything I thought. I am a BAD ASS.

It was truly an amazing life changing experience. It has really grown me and given me a new perspective. Feeling that absolute peace and freedom was so liberating. It was also so empowering to conquer a fear so many have. It has built my confidence, and reminds me what I am capable of.

If you have a dream, go get it! Skydiving had always been a dream of mine, and I am so happy the opportunity presented itself to me at the exact right moment, in the perfect place. Thank you God, Thank you California, thank you Santa Barbara, thank you Tim, and thank you to ME. So proud of myself!

Well, I always tell people to think of negative self talk. Everyone seems to understand that immediately! We all have that inner voice. And sometimes it can be real mean to us. It can tell us bad things about ourselves, cause us doubt, beat us down and hold us back. It is the bully in your brain. Now I am sure many can relate with negative thinking. I had years and years of negative self talk and It is not completely gone. This negative mind frame just plays over and over these messages we have received throughout our lives either from parents, teachers, friends, boyfriend ect. This narrative fuels depression, anxiety, low self esteem, fear, guilt and hopelessness.

But, I am much nicer to myself now and am pretty damn good at being positive and optimistic about life. So how did I change my negative self talk into positive self talk? Repetition! I would write down good things or positive affirmations about myself or say them out loud. I would do this everyday, preferably in the morning before I begin my day. At night before bed is also good though. Neuroplasticity is the brains ability to make new connections and neural pathways throughout life. This is like how if you keep practicing an instrument, eventually you will get good at it. It’s the practice that works. Practice writing positive affirmations everyday. It’s even better if you can really try to believe in what you are writing down. Eventually you will begin shifting your perspective, and your belief about yourself as well.

Another thing to practice is gratitude. All religions and spirituality teach this one great law. I am grateful to God everyday of my life for everything I have. Big, small, good, bad, old, new. Im thankful. Now whether you believe in God, or the universe or the power of just being thankful(and there is LOTS of research scientifically backing up the power of gratitude) make a daily gratitude list. Every night before bed, and you can do this alongside your affirmations, write down 5 things you are grateful for. Just 5. It can be big things or small things, but think of 5 things. It may seem silly at first, but over time it will help you to recognize the things you have to be grateful for, as well as attract MORE things to be grateful for.

Self awareness is huge in trying to switch to positive self talk. Being able to catch yourself saying bad things and correcting them, identifying behaviours related to negative mind frame, and tracking your moods and daily activities. I love to write and journal. It is my number one way to deal with feelings and emotions and just life. When I write, I can also look back the past few weeks and go over what I wrote. I can see where there are patterns in moods and activities, sleep schedule, how I am eating, everything. Becoming self aware of everything is so important, from the way you speak, to what you eat, to who you hang around with. Take a look at it all.

That’s what I am going to quickly add before I end. The people you hang around really do affect you. You do not want to be hanging around with people who treat you badly or get you to do things you don’t want to. Over time this will affect your self confidence and view of yourself. Having 1 or 2 quality friends who care about you and encourage you are much better than having lots of friends who bring you down, or only wants to hang out to get into trouble.

Psychosis…pretty scared word. Psychotic break.. scary words..but there I was, completely detached from reality, and living on a heightened aura in a magic realm. Alice has nothing on me.

But seriously, mental illness is weird. Now, I am not sure if its “bad” to say this, but I will always remember my psychosis as one of the best times of my life. BUT also the scariest .. plus I made some terrible terrible decisions. But it was life changing and whether it was just a surge of brain chemicals all out of wack or something more, it was a spiritual experience.

This was my first manic episode(thus leading to my Bipolar diagnosis). It went so high that it broke off into psychosis. This my friends, is where life got really strange.

I should start by going over a few of the events leading up to my breakdown. I had Just moved out of my parents home that I had lived in for over 25 years to move to Toronto with my boyfriend. I had just left my serving job, lost 5000$ gamling, and got diagnosed with celiac disease. Me and my boyfriend lasted not even 3 months before I realized he was hiding things from me and most likely cheating, and I snapped. My brain literally snapped. It was too much to handle, too much stress and I was also smoking a whole lot of Pot. I will write another article soon about marijuana being linked to psychosis.

Anyways, so I got on a trip to North Bay with my sisters and I was losing it the whole ride up. Me and my sister Ang drove in my car, and my sister Sofie and the boys went in her car. I had to get Ang to drive, or well she basically said she is driving because something is wrong with me. I was soooo paranoid!! My ipad was speaking to me, the bible was speaking to me, the animals were all speaking to me and I felt this intense feeling of running out of time and urgently needing to do something. It was almost like anxiety x 10000000 but different. The world around me had a completely different feel and I started feeling like I was in the twiilight zone. Things just felt weird and I was terrifed something bad was about to happen. A black raven came and landed on a tree on my front porch before we left my house, and I thought it meant someone was going to die that weekend. I really truly thought this.

After that strange, scary ride that lasted 6 hours of me being deluded, we got to North Bay. I don’t remember much of the details once we arrived, but I do remember the grande finale. Basically at the end of the trip, or maybe it was the middle, I thought I was in the spirit realm. I was fighting demons, going out into the forest alone in the middle of the night, sitting on a rock in the water and staring at the moon for 3 hours. I was non stop communicating with God, and I had to save the world and bring everyone to Jesus! It was such an intense surreal feeling of needing to save people. The last thing I remember was being in the water with my nephew Noah, thinking the Rapture was about to happen..and in stead, an ambulance showed up.

So at this point, I’m like I knew it! I knew they were coming for me! The government knew everything I knew and they are trying to shut me up! So now I am being told I am crazy and getting locked up. The ambulance put me in the back and tried to tranquilize me which I immediately freaked when I seen the needle, and broke out the back and RAN. LIKE RAN FOR MY LIFE. My sister was chasing me at first and I just kept running. I thought everyone was a demon and was out to get me. All of a sudden I see the police and panic even more. For some reason my eyes zereod in on one of the officers guns, and I lost it. I thought he was going to shoot me. So I do the whole run from the cops thing and eventually im captured, or actually I think I surrendered. They handcuffed me threw me on the cop car which was a horrible experience as my sisters watched crying. My nephew looked so scared. It was probably a horrific experience for everyone involved. Anyways I pleaded with the cop in the car to believe in Jesus or they would kill him too. I thought he was taking me to my ressurection. I was right then and there willing to die for my faith, and to this day I still think that was quite noble.

Okay sooooo. Once I get to the hospital. Mind you, I am in North Bay, 6 hours from my hometown in Brampton. So they put me in a room, where they tell me to lay down and goto sleep. I was soaking wet and in a friggen bathing suit and I remember them giving me a bunch of blankets. A cop stayed with me in the room who was super nice to me. I guess I passed out, and woke up in such a weird trance. I couldn’t see clearly, I wasn’t even sure if my eyes were open, but I could hear voices all around me. I could hear my nephews, my sisters, my friends, everyone.. I didn’t know where they were, but they were all there. It was weird. I kept getting up to go see the voices and someone kept stopping me (security) But it was like the voices were calling me so I kept getting up to see them. The security guard said something to someone and they I seen a different secuirty guard and maybe a nurse? She asked me a bunch of questions.. no clue what she asked me but I remember she told me I’m a healer. I always remember that because I have always wanted to heal others and have always found comfort in the art of healing.In my psychosis I believed this girl was my sister Sofie and the security was my brother George. They looked so much like them.

Anyways I get moved to a different section of the hospital. Now there are other patients there and there is more stuff going on. I meet some people, think they are all people they aren’t, have crazy talk with people, braid peoples hair and yeah thats most of what I remember there. Then I go up another level in the hospital. Now I am in an even more “exciting” place. I am out of my mind manic and everything is fun and interesting and magical. I believe at this point God is keeping me in here because the tribulation is going on outside in the “Real world”. So I meet some other interesting people, have more very weird and strange conversations that all made sense, and am high as a kite the whole time. They have me medicated but it’s not doing much at this point, I’m still in la la land.

So at some point it hits me how far away from home I am, and that it would takes 6 hours for people to visit me. While my sisters were still in North Bay they came to see me, but then they went back home and I was left in the psych ward. I remember demanding they send me to Brampton so I could be with my family and I don’t know if that was really even a possibility but all of a sudden one of the nurses told me I would be going. Somehow I got to take a private Jet from North Bay to Brampton. It was awesome! I felt like a movie star in my grandiose manic state and I was literally on cloud 9. They let me take pictures on the plane and I entertained everyone around me. Fun.

So now I am in Brampton Civic Hospital. NOOOOOO omg this place is SO different from North Bay! It was not as friendly or welcoming and I remember still going on and on that its the end of the world and the government is going to kill us all. Funny things though, all the “crazy people” get what other “crazy people” mean about everything and we all had like some weird secret code language and the whole thing was bizarre. But fascinating.

I haven’t even mentioned that I called my ex boyfriend. Who ruined my life and I think triggered this bipolar disorder to begin with. He had hurt me years prior and I had never truly forgiven or gotten over him. Something was weighing on my heart telling me I needed to forgive him to find peace. So I called him. Big mistake. I was in the depths of my psychosis during this call, and I remember going on to him that the rapture was going to happen and that I forgave him for everything in the past because God would want me to forgive him. So that is what I was doing but then it just went somewhere it should not have. He was visiting me at the hospital and bringing me food (oh all while he had a pregnant gf). In this state I thought nothing was wrong with this ?? And by the end of my hospital stint I was moving back in with him and we were together again. Now this had been the love of my life and we had a lot of history that should have stayed as just history. He had moved on with his life but here he was with me while I have gone mad, and somehow convinced me he always loved me, never got over me and still wanted us to be together. He told me he didn’t want to be with his gf just that she was pregnant. If I had been in a right state of mind, this whole scenario would not have happened. But as I was in psychosis and detached from reality, somehow thinking this is what God wanted me to do. Lol, more like the devil. Oh yeah, my ex is a psychopath. The whole experience felt like spiritual warfare and at some points I believed I was possessed and other points I believed I was an Angel of the Lord. A lot of people believe psychosis is actually a spiritual awakening. It really does feel that way and I was praying and fasting a lot before it began as well. Sometimes I do still wonder if it is all illness, or there is something more to it. What do you guys think?

So I got diagnosed bipolar, they let me out, and I continued in a heightened state for at least 2 more weeks before the meds really brought me down. Psychosis was a truly out of world experience, a place I believe no drug could ever take you, and I am still quite puzzled and curious about what it all meant. I had a deep connection with numbers, patterns and synchronicities, and saw connections others could not. I believe it may have even opened up a deeper psychic ability. I have always had psychic abilities, or strong intution, but this seemed to have intensified all that. I learned through it my intense need to help people(save them I should say) and my capacity to love. I felt so much pure love and joy, that I know exists on another plane. I believe one day, that is the place we will all be, in a blissful happy reality based on love.

There is so much more just small details and i’m sure stuff I don’t remember.. but it truly was a trip down the rabbit hole. I would love to hear others experiences with Psychosis and mental illness in general .

Hey Everyone! Here in Brampton, Ontario it is 7:11pm. I am utterly exhausted, but now finally relaxed. Today was great at work! We had our annual Awake conference and I got to MC the event as well as share my story. The conference was for different high schools throughout York region, and students participated in workshops such as breakdancing, belly dancing, graffiti, knitting and poetry. It was a busy busy day and I have been up since about 5:30am. The conference was held at a church in Newmarket and there were also different agency booths and cool stuff. We had a band of cops perform called ‘Rock for Cops’ lol they were really good and Lots of good stuff around harm reduction. It is unreal how therapeutic my job is for me. I remember one time feeling so purposeless, and now I see purpose all around me. I feel God and feel guided in the right direction. To help others through my own experience with hardships makes me feel happy. It shows there is a silver lining, and that there is always hope.

Always remember you are not stuck, and you are stronger than you think you are.

Mania, or a manic episode, is usually characterized by feelings of extreme energy, restlessness, or irritability.

In general, signs of a manic episode may include:

High energy and excessive activity

Overly good mood

Irritability or impatience

Fast, erratic talking

Racing thoughts

Inability to concentrate

Little need for sleep

Feelings of power

Poor judgment

Reckless spending

High sex drive

Alcohol or drug abuse

Aggression

Refusal to admit that there is a problem

The severity of manic symptoms can vary in bipolar disorder, and most people will not experience all symptoms.

In some forms of bipolar disorder, people will experience hypomania, a milder form of mania that usually feels good. People who are experiencing hypomania often can function well and be more productive than usual.

But if left untreated, hypomania can develop into severe mania or can change to depression.

If your elevated or irritable mood is accompanied by manic symptoms most of the day, nearly every day, for at least one week, your doctor may diagnose a manic episode.

Bipolar Depression

In bipolar disorder, manic episodes alternate with periods of emotional lows, which are known as depressive episodes.

Experiencing occasional anxiety is a normal part of life. However, people with anxiety disorders frequently have intense, excessive and persistent worry and fear about everyday situations. Often, anxiety disorders involve repeated episodes of sudden feelings of intense anxiety and fear or terror that reach a peak within minutes (panic attacks).

These feelings of anxiety and panic interfere with daily activities, are difficult to control, are out of proportion to the actual danger and can last a long time. You may avoid places or situations to prevent these feelings. Symptoms may start during childhood or the teen years and continue into adulthood.

Examples of anxiety disorders include generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder (social phobia), specific phobias and separation anxiety disorder. You can have more than one anxiety disorder. Sometimes anxiety results from a medical condition that needs treatment.

Whatever form of anxiety you have, treatment can help.

Symptoms

Common anxiety signs and symptoms include:

Feeling nervous, restless or tense

Having a sense of impending danger, panic or doom

Having an increased heart rate

Breathing rapidly (hyperventilation)

Sweating

Trembling

Feeling weak or tired

Trouble concentrating or thinking about anything other than the present worry

Having trouble sleeping

Experiencing gastrointestinal (GI) problems

Having difficulty controlling worry

Having the urge to avoid things that trigger anxiety

Several types of anxiety disorders exist:

Agoraphobia (ag-uh-ruh-FOE-be-uh) is a type of anxiety disorder in which you fear and often avoid places or situations that might cause you to panic and make you feel trapped, helpless or embarrassed.

Anxiety disorder due to a medical condition includes symptoms of intense anxiety or panic that are directly caused by a physical health problem.

Generalized anxiety disorder includes persistent and excessive anxiety and worry about activities or events — even ordinary, routine issues. The worry is out of proportion to the actual circumstance, is difficult to control and affects how you feel physically. It often occurs along with other anxiety disorders or depression.

Panic disorder involves repeated episodes of sudden feelings of intense anxiety and fear or terror that reach a peak within minutes (panic attacks). You may have feelings of impending doom, shortness of breath, chest pain, or a rapid, fluttering or pounding heart (heart palpitations). These panic attacks may lead to worrying about them happening again or avoiding situations in which they’ve occurred.

Selective mutism is a consistent failure of children to speak in certain situations, such as school, even when they can speak in other situations, such as at home with close family members. This can interfere with school, work and social functioning.

Separation anxiety disorder is a childhood disorder characterized by anxiety that’s excessive for the child’s developmental level and related to separation from parents or others who have parental roles.

Social anxiety disorder (social phobia) involves high levels of anxiety, fear and avoidance of social situations due to feelings of embarrassment, self-consciousness and concern about being judged or viewed negatively by others.

Specific phobias are characterized by major anxiety when you’re exposed to a specific object or situation and a desire to avoid it. Phobias provoke panic attacks in some people.

Substance-induced anxiety disorder is characterized by symptoms of intense anxiety or panic that are a direct result of misusing drugs, taking medications, being exposed to a toxic substance or withdrawal from drugs.

Other specified anxiety disorder and unspecified anxiety disorder are terms for anxiety or phobias that don’t meet the exact criteria for any other anxiety disorders but are significant enough to be distressing and disruptive.

When to see a doctor

See your doctor if:

You feel like you’re worrying too much and it’s interfering with your work, relationships or other parts of your life

Your fear, worry or anxiety is upsetting to you and difficult to control

You feel depressed, have trouble with alcohol or drug use, or have other mental health concerns along with anxiety

You think your anxiety could be linked to a physical health problem

You have suicidal thoughts or behaviors — if this is the case, seek emergency treatment immediately

Your worries may not go away on their own, and they may get worse over time if you don’t seek help. See your doctor or a mental health provider before your anxiety gets worse. It’s easier to treat if you get help early.

Treatment

If your doctor rules out a physical cause for your symptoms, he may start you on a treatment or refer you to a mental health professional. This specialist will figure out the best course of treatment. That may include medicines (such as antidepressants), a type of therapy called psychotherapy, or both.

Treatment

If your doctor rules out a physical cause for your symptoms, he may start you on a treatment or refer you to a mental health professional. This specialist will figure out the best course of treatment. That may include medicines (such as antidepressants), a type of therapy called psychotherapy, or both.

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Hi! My name is Sara, welcome to my blog🙋‍♀️ I am a writer and speaker and I am passionate about mental health, healing, spirituality and self development. I believe in everyone and want everyone to believe in themselves too! 🙏